Recognizing Opportunities and Generating Ideas Chapter 2 Recognizing Opportunities and Generating Ideas Bruce R. Barringer R. Duane Ireland Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Chapter Objectives 1 of 2 Explain why it’s important to start a new firm when its “window of opportunity” is open. Explain the difference between an opportunity and an idea. Describe the three general approaches entrepreneurs use to identify opportunities. Identify the four environmental trends that are most instrumental in creating business opportunities. List the personal characteristics that make some people better at recognizing business opportunities than others. Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Chapter Objectives 2 of 2 Identify the five steps in the creative process. Describe the purpose of brainstorming and its use as an idea generator. Describe how to use library and Internet research to generate new business ideas. Explain the purpose of maintaining an idea bank. Describe three steps for protecting ideas from being lost or stolen. Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

What is An Opportunity? 1 of 2 An opportunity is a favorable set of circumstances that creates a need for a new product, service, or business. Opportunity Defined Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

What is an Opportunity? 2 of 2 Four Essential Qualities of an Opportunity Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Three Approaches to Identify an Opportunity Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

First Approach: Observing Trends 1 of 2 Trends create opportunities for entrepreneurs to pursue. The most important trends are: Economic forces Social forces Technological advances Political action and regulatory change It’s important to be aware of changes in these areas. Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

First Approach: Observing Trends 2 of 2 Environmental Trends Suggesting Business or Product Opportunity Gaps Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Trend 1: Economic Forces Example of Economic Trend Creating a Favorable Opportunity Economic trends help determine areas that are ripe for new start-ups and areas that start-ups should avoid. A weak economy favors start-ups that help consumers save money. An example is GasBuddy.com, a company started to help consumers save money on gas. Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Trend 2: Social Forces Examples of Social Trends Social trends alter how people and businesses behave and set their priorities. These trends provide opportunities for new businesses to accommodate the changes. Aging of baby boomers The increasing diversity of the workplace Increasing interest in social networks such as Facebook and Twitter An increasing focus on health and wellness Increasing interest in “green” products Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Trend 3: Technological Advances 1 of 2 Examples of Entire Industries that Have Been Created as the Result of Technological Advances Advances in technology frequently create business opportunities. Computer industry Internet Biotechnology Digital photography Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Trend 3: Technological Advances 2 of 2 Example: H20Audio Once a technology is created, products often emerge to advance it. An example is H20Audio, a company started by four former San Diego State University students, that makes waterproof housings for the Apple iPhone and iPod. Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Trend 4: Political Action and Regulatory Changes 1 of 2 General Example Political action and regulatory changes also provide the basis for opportunities. Laws to protect the environment have created opportunities for entrepreneurs to start firms that help other firms comply with environmental laws and regulations. Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Trend 4: Political Action and Regulatory Changes 2 of 2 Specific Example The No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 requires states to develop criterion-based assessments in basic skills to be periodically given to students in certain grades. Kim and Jay Kleeman, two high school teachers, started Shakespeare Squared, a company that helps high schools comply with the act. Company created to help other companies comply with a specific law. Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Second Approach: Solving a Problem 1 of 2 Sometimes identifying opportunities simply involves noticing a problem and finding a way to solve it. These problems can be pinpointed through observing trends and through more simple means, such as intuition, serendipity, or chance. Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Second Approach: Solving a Problem 2 of 2 A problem facing the U.S. and other countries is finding alternatives to fossil fuels. A large number of entrepreneurial firms, like this solar farm, are being launched to solve this problem. Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Third Approach: Finding Gaps in the Marketplace 1 of 2 A third approach to identifying opportunities is to find a gap in the marketplace. A gap in the marketplace is often created when a product or service is needed by a specific group of people but doesn’t represent a large enough market to be of interest to mainstream retailers or manufacturers. Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Third Approach: Finding Gaps in the Marketplace 2 of 2 Specific Example Product gaps in the marketplace represent potentially viable business opportunities. In 2000 Tish Cirovolv realized there were no guitars on the market made specifically for women. To fill this gap, she started Daisy Rock Guitars, a company that makes guitars just for women. Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Personal Characteristics of the Entrepreneur Characteristics that tend to make some people better at recognizing opportunities than others Prior Experience Cognitive Factors Social Networks Creativity Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Prior Experience Prior Industry Experience Several studies have shown that prior experience in an industry helps an entrepreneur recognize business opportunities. By working in an industry, an individual may spot a market niche that is underserved. It is also possible that by working in an industry, an individual builds a network of social contacts who provide insights that lead to recognizing new opportunities. Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Cognitive Factors Cognitive Factors Studies have shown that opportunity recognition may be an innate skill or cognitive process. Some people believe that entrepreneurs have a “sixth sense” that allows them to see opportunities that others miss. This “sixth sense” is called entrepreneurial alertness, which is formally defined as the ability to notice things without engaging in deliberate search. Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Social Networks 1 of 3 Social Networks The extent and depth of an individual’s social network affects opportunity recognition. People who build a substantial network of social and professional contacts will be exposed to more opportunities and ideas than people with sparse networks. Research results suggest that between 40% and 50% of people who start a business got their idea via a social contact. Strong Tie Vs. Weak Tie Relationships All of us have relationships with other people that are called “ties.” Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Social Networks 2 of 3 Nature of Strong-Tie Vs. Weak-Tie Relationships Strong-tie relationships are characterized by frequent interaction and form between coworkers, friends, and spouses. Weak-tie relationships are characterized by infrequent interaction and form between casual acquaintances. Result It is more likely that an entrepreneur will get new business ideas through weak-tie rather than strong-tie relationships. Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Social Networks 3 of 3 Why weak-tie relationships lead to more new business ideas than strong-tie relationships Strong-Tie Relationships Weak-Tie Relationships These relationships, which typically form between like-minded individuals, tend to reinforce insights and ideas that people already have. These relationships, which form between casual acquaintances, are not as apt to be between like-minded individuals, so one person may say something to another that sparks a completely new idea. Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Creativity 1 of 2 Creativity Creativity is the process of generating a novel or useful idea. Opportunity recognition may be, at least in part, a creative process. For an individual, the creative process can be broken down into five stages, as shown on the next slide. Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Creativity 2 of 2 Five Steps to Generating Creative Ideas Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Full View of the Opportunity Recognition Process Depicts the connection between an awareness of emerging trends and the personal characteristics of the entrepreneur Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Techniques for Generating Ideas Brainstorming Focus Groups Library and Internet Research Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Brainstorming Brainstorming Is a technique used to generate a large number of ideas and solutions to problems quickly. A brainstorming “session” typically involves a group of people, and should be targeted to a specific topic. Rules for a brainstorming session: No criticism. Freewheeling is encouraged. The session should move quickly. Leap-frogging is encouraged. Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Focus Groups Focus Group A focus group is a gathering of five to ten people, who have been selected based on their common characteristics relative to the issues being discussed. These groups are led by a trained moderator, who uses the internal dynamics of the group environment to gain insight into why people feel the way they do about a particular issue. Although focus groups are used for a variety of purposes, they can be used to help generate new business ideas. Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Library and Internet Research 1 of 3 Library Research Libraries are an often underutilized source of information for generating new business ideas. The best approach is to talk to a reference librarian, who can point out useful resources, such as industry-specific magazines, trade journals, and industry reports. Simply browsing through several issues of a trade journal or an industry report on a topic can spark new ideas. Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Library and Internet Research 2 of 3 Examples of Useful Search Engines and Industry Reports Large public and university libraries typically have access to search engines and industry reports that would cost thousands of dollars to access on your own. BizMiner ProQuest IBISWorld Mintel LexisNexis Academic Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Library and Internet Research 3 of 3 If you are starting from scratch, simply typing “new business ideas” into a search engine will produce links to newspapers and magazine articles about the “hottest” new business ideas. If you have a specific topic in mind, setting up Google or Yahoo! e-mail alerts will provide you with links to a constant stream of newspaper articles, blog posts, and news releases about the topic. Targeted searches are also useful. Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Other Techniques Customer Advisory Boards Some companies set up customer advisory boards that meet regularly to discuss needs, wants, and problems that may lead to new ideas. Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Encouraging New Ideas Establishing a Focal Point for Ideas Some firms meet the challenge of encouraging, collecting, and evaluating ideas by designating a specific person to screen and track them—for if it’s everybody’s job, it may be no one’s responsibility. Another approach is to establish an idea bank (or vault), which is a physical or digital repository for storing ideas. Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Protecting Ideas From Being Lost or Stolen Step 1 The idea should be put in a tangible form such as entered into a physical idea logbook or saved on a computer disk, and the date the idea was first thought of should be entered. Step 2 The idea should be secured. This may seem like an obvious step, but is often overlooked. Step 3 Avoid making an inadvertent or voluntary disclosure of an idea, in a manner that forfeits the right to claim exclusive rights to it. Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America. Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall